Optometrists Building Empires

Dr. Nadia Afkhami: Start Before You Feel Ready Dr. Nadia Afkhami started sharing her experience online as an optometry student. Those connections later helped her find mentors, meet her podcast co-hosts and connect with an associate for her practice. In this conversation with Ankit Patel, she talks about starting optometry school at 29, buying into an existing practice and choosing a work schedule that fits her family. She also shares why taking the first step matters, how she asked her podcast network for help pursuing a Vision Expo speaking opportunity, and what she would tell her younger self about noticing progress. In this episode: - How sharing her own experience helped Nadia build a professional community. - Why her practice, social media and podcast belong to the same story. - What practice ownership means to her beyond adding locations. - How she approaches opportunities when she feels uncertain. - Why she values the path that brought her to optometry. Chapters 00:00 Opening 00:27 Meet Dr. Nadia Afkhami 02:05 Building an optometry community online 05:18 Saying yes before you feel ready 08:09 Starting optometry school at 29 09:25 Practice ownership on her own terms 11:20 How the practice, podcast and social media connect 12:40 Take the first step and ask for help 15:08 Her hopes for the profession 18:39 Family support and a first-generation journey 20:02 Advice to her younger self 22:28 The opportunities behind a change of plans 24:26 Connect with Nadia 27:35 Closing and Optometry Redefined Connect with Dr. Nadia Afkhami Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eyeamdrnadia/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drnadiaafkhami/ The Depth Perception Podcast: https://defocusmediagroup.com/the-depth-perception-podcast/ Connect with Ankit Book a conversation with Ankit and ask about Optometry Redefined: https://meetings.hubspot.com/ankit98/optometry-redefined Optometrists Building Empires https://buildingempires.live